Farmers protest slow lifting of non-basmati varieties of paddy

Farmers under the banner of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) staged protests at various places in the district here on Friday to highlight the tardy procurement of paddy by government agencies.

Farmer leaders stated that even as the government had officially announced to start procurement of non- basmati varieties of paddy from October 1, it has failed to streamline the process till now and the farmers are facing problems.

Rattan Singh Randhawa of Jamhoori Kisan Sabha said farmers are being forced to sell their produce at less than minimum support price fixed by the government. He said that this is being done by making unnecessary cuts on the MSP on various pretexts.

Randhawa said that the government has also failed to take notice of the extremely low prices of basmati. “By not taking any action, the government is clearly siding with the corporate houses which hold various big brand names for basmati rice,” he said.

Dr Satnam Singh Ajnala said, “After buying basmati varieties for as low as Rs 2,500 per quintal, these companies would sell basmati rice for at least Rs 150 per kg. This means that they are selling basmati which they purchased from farmers for Rs 25 per kilo at a price which is six times higher.”

The farmers also criticised the state government for its failure to ensure the supply of DAP required for sowing of wheat.

Farmer leader Balbir Singh Mudhal said that the government has failed to ensure proper procurement and lifting in the district. He added that it is for the first time in the last 15 years that the farmers have faced such problems which have forced them to hold protests in the middle of the harvesting season.